Friday, February 08, 2008

Presto Pasta Night #49

It has been a while since I last posted something for Ruth's wonderful Presto Pasta Night and it's not due to not eating pasta, I just haven't made it at the right time.

Today that changes and I have some fresh parsley linguine to use

Linguine are very similar to fettuccine - they are both a square cut, flat and narrow noodle with linguine being the smaller of the two.

As it is Lent and some still stick to the no meat on Fridays mantra during this period, I'll be making a "lent friendly" pasta with the help of these fabulous raw Queensland Black Tiger Prawns.

It was most fortunate indeed to find them in their raw form, as it happened it was a mix up in the order and the fishmonger ended up with raw rather than cooked. Personally, I think it's a most fortuitous error.

Underneath their shells you find they look like this

the white flesh looks like it was stained with squid ink. When cooked these black markings turn a vibrant colour as you'll see.

Prepare the PrawnsSet 2 prawns aside - I will cook these whole and present them on top of the dishes.Peel the remaining prawns, remove the intestinal tract and then cut into good sized pieces.Set this aside in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the sauce.

Make the Sauce:In a deep pan heat a little olive oil and butter over a medium heat. When the butter has melted add the oyster mushrooms and sauté them quickly until they begin to brown and release some of their excess moisture. I'm doing this now as I want to retain that sautéed flavour and their slightly firmer texture - I'll be adding them back right at the end. Doing it this way you avoid them becoming too soft and mushy.

Set these sautéed mushrooms aside and continue with the sauce in the same pan.

Add the onions, garlic and chilli and sauté them slowly to allow the flavours to develop and mingle with pan juices. When the onion begins to colour you can then add the zucchini ribbons - I'm using yellow zucchini to provide a different colour element to the dish.

The zucchini ribbons will break down a little as they cook - I find adding zucchini whether grated or in ribbons gives the sauce a wonderfully creamy texture and it makes adding cream unnecessary.

While the zucchini are cooking, you will need to sear the two whole prawns over a high heat until just cooked

By the time the zucchini has gotten a little colour and softened, your pasta should be just about ready - turn the heat up and add the prawn pieces. Keep stirring to ensure they are evenly cooked - you'll notice they will almost immediately turn that pink-orange colour, when they do they are done. Add back the mushrooms, along with the baby spinach leaves and a small handful of fresh basil leaves. Keep tossing to allow the spinach to just wilt - taste and then season with salt and pepper if desired.

Remove from the heat and add the drained cooked linguine - stir until the sauce is evenly distributed and then serve. Adorn each plate with a seared whole prawn.

I was inspired by your dish Haalo, so I made it tonight, well a version of it because of what I had on hand - my variations - squid ink pasta, no mushrooms, green zucchini. It was so delicious! Thanks for the inspiration.